Thursday, March 31, 2016

I can not believe that March is over! Yes tomorrow April will arrive & spring will be that much closer, as will my trek to the east coast. I have been visiting with friends as I do not know when I will return to Ontario. Trucks & trailers will be travelling east, all summer & fall, moving the rest of our things. I will travel with Bill in the truck & trailer & Nicholas will drive my car, loaded too! All this is just 5 weekends away now! This is a long blog so get a cuppa & settle in. So glad your visiting!

Cat Shenanigans

Rexton is still loving perching herself on high heights!

This clock came from Missouri USA, from a store called The Walnut Bowl. Bill had it shipped to me for our 5th - wood - Wedding anniversary, nearly 25 years ago now! It is the tallest item in the lounge & she has claimed it! lol

Last week I noticed all three cats...oh my gosh...my three little kittens!! lol That is the 1st time I realized the nursery rhyme & my cats! Well they were all together near the fireplace & you know what that means...cold weather is coming & it did. Lucky for us last Thursday the ice storm missed us, but just an hour away 1-2 inches of ice formed on everything. The cats are great predictors!

Rexton is loving her cat mat, whilst Mr. Boots has taken over Boris's basket.

Tommy likes to be on his own & has curled up on the chair.

He's now 17 years old & deserves the right to be wherever makes him happy. :-)

Is this not the face of contentment?!! lolThe Sew What's...
The Sew What's sewing group, is a sewing group that meets on a monthly base & shares the sewing knowledge & shows what one is working on. We have so much fun with each other at these meetings!

Mibs, in the black & Pat behind her, are getting ready to show who has the longest arms. We all laughed at the stories of their 'wing span' & I asked to photograph them. This is them getting set. lol

Here are Mibs & Pat spreading their 'wings' ! Oh to have such reach, I'm always looking for a chair in the room to reach things!

Thank you ladies for this photo opportunity, your gorgeous with that wing span!

Our Sew What's group is 13 members strong & 2 were unable to attend last Thursday. Hope your feeling better Judy & June, thank you for not sharing your cold with us!

We always have an evening of laughter when we get together!

Tommy made an appearance & had a good petting from the ladies that were cat people.

Rexton is new to this & just took over Susan's lap, lucky for her she's one of the cat people. lol

It was our tea break & Rexton took the opportunity to 'lounge' on Susan. Maybe it was those leopard print pants? lol

Whatever it was, Rexon didn't move for a long time...neither did Susan! lol

Then Bill & Nicholas arrived for the weekend & Rexton was investigating the arriving luggage.

I'm going to miss this group of ladies & the fun we have when we're together.

Edith came from out west, & is working on a form of 'corking', she's making a scarf. Pat & Penny join in the evening conversation.

Barb & Edith taking in the evening.

Mibs with her knitting, some take to knitting in the winter months. Cynthia N. is hooked on hexi's & is doing a project on just that! Barb is on the mend from a resent illness & is working her way back.

Penny, Elaine, Susan, Ann, Lou, & Barb. It's so hard to get them all together, I should have had Bill do a group shot of us. Next month we're at June's for a dinner & I'm going to take my camera & do just that! A group shot as that is the last time I'll be with them! :-(

Cousin Ann had some help, from Rexton, with her yarn.

Rexton is not a shy cat, she's only 1 1/2 years old & gets bolder as she ages!

The London Humane Society is lucky to have Ann & her enthusiasm, with commitment, to their cause. Year round, she's making & selling animal related items to help off set costs there. Now she has us saving our cat food cans for the recycling monies. Many of us have cats on can food, I never did till Mr. Boots came into our life. Now Ann gets our dishwashed cans & lids for her cause. :-)

She's a cat person & Rexton knows it!

I'm going to miss this monthly meeting. I was so glad to host them this month.

What's Sewing This Week...
I've been organizing my quilt books & came across this 1989 pattern, from the Stitch 'n' Sew Quilts magazine . It's so simple but very summery & easy to make.

It's cut like the paper dolls or snowflakes that we use to do. Two of the corners must be folds.

Then I centered & fused it onto another batik fat 1/4. I now just need to stitch it down through the design, batting, & backing, with the buttonhole stitch, add some meandering to the aqua blue & finish it with some binding & voila!! A beautiful summery table topper of butterflies.
What a fun project of a metamorphosis into summer. For me, it is the quickest of all the seasons so I'm going to get a jump start on it! lol

Thank you for stopping by for a visit, I hope your spring is arriving soon. The weather is going back to snow for the weekend here, no worries though, it will not last!

April showers & I'm going home to see my May flowers!

Quotable Quotes
"The really frightening thing about middle age is the knowledge that you'll grow out of it." ~Doris DayHave a great weekend, stay safe & healthy.

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Cousin Ann & I were out shopping yesterday for my tatting supplies & Mary's post from Home Is Were The Boat Is (I don't know how to link it, try Google) look for it under Easter Peeps.
She had talked about decorating with Peeps? What were they & were would I find them?
Ann found pink bunnies, in the Foodland grocery store, Nick found eggs & chicks in Walmart, I found the jelly beans in Giant Tiger. Yes! the supplies to put the arrangement together!~

Here's my finished arrangement. I'm going to add the chicks, bunny, & eggs on bamboo sticks. I forgot that detail & was reminded when I looked up Mary's picture again.

Monday, March 21, 2016

I've been enjoying the process of rug hooking & have had my hands busy with that!

I finished the On The Land rug & the sky kept looking oh so familiar to me...

These two compliment each other so well, they have to remain a set now! lol

Yes! I remember working the large, sport weight, of Red Heart yarn into large granny squares & then joining them together for this afghan! Years, heck decades ago, Bill & I were in the elevator distribution business & in the beginning of those days, we could not afford to hire a transport truck to do a run of elevators from the factory, in Grandview Missouri, USA to London On, Canada...so we would do a 14 hour drive, each way, with our truck & a trailer, to pick the shipment up ourselves.
We did that for years & always on a weekend, because we could not miss any work time from our own business. Wow, what we did to survive & thrive. And the adventures we had along the way. lol
Those that know me, know I don't sit-stay well & I would be busy with hours of crocheting, as we drove down to the states & back to Canada, all in a weekend. This was one of many afghans that I made during that time in the late 80's, early 90's, the one I designed for me.
We did finally have transport trucks do the work but it was different in the beginning, establishing our business. I even learnt how to become my own broker, clearing the international shipments from the USA & England. Oh what we do when we have to! lol
It all seems like another world away from my daily living now & I don't miss the corporate world.

Meandering Done!

The meandering is now done & I'll be adding the appliqued leaves to quilt now!

The embroidered gnomes & fairies really popped, when the meandering was done.

I'm hoping that the muslin blocks won't be as noticeable, when the leaves are added on.

Adding to tree top leaves made a difference & helped fill in the top.

This little fellow, on the leaf, is still one of my favourites. :-)

The meandering has given the quilt so much texture. I'm hoping the leaves go on easily, as I edge stitch them onto the meandering.

Next post will show the leaves on!

Rexton has been very lively, with the birds singing loudly, she wants to pounce them!

Tommy is curled up on the afghan, Mr. Boots has adjusted beautifully to our household, what a handsome cat in his over jacket! lol And Rexton on 'the look' for anything to play with or attack &
that usually means poor Mr. Boots. lol

I made a new rug last week. A 'cat mat' as these guys love being on the wool mats, I thought it would be good to have, to sit in bay windows or on chairs & sofa's, to help keep their fur off me & the guests that 'have a seat'. lol

Rexton has already claimed this one. I had this pattern from a Rugg Hooking magazine a few years back & have finally got around to doing it. I changed out the pattern & never had the magazine with me to know what colour was used. So I played with it & extended the size of it too, by adding a vine & dots to it.

The cat mat turned out to be colourful & happy looking. Rexton enjoys it & I enjoyed working up some of my Briggs & Little yarn. The crocheted outer edge works up so fast, I'm glad I went to the Hook-In in Riverview NB to learn this technique. And look forward to attending this year! The rug just needs a good pressing now & it's done!

This weekend my neighbour Pat & I went to a 'Tat-In' to learn the lace making art of 'tatting'.
I really enjoyed it & made a circle with picots in it! I have a lot of practice to do to really know what I'm doing & this group only meets once a month. So onto YouTube I went & Ester is a very good teacher for beginners. I was taught to tat on a needle & Ester does it with a shuttle. I'm going to give that a try...just as soon I purchase a few tatting supplies.

Spring today was cool with snow, then hail, then snow, then sun & now it's looking like spring again.
However a storm front will be going through SW ON later this week, so maybe, the end of March will go out 'like a lamb' as it came in like a lion.

Have a great 'spring' week & thank you for stopping by for a visit.
Wishing you a very blessed Easter, spring is always a new beginning.

Monday, March 14, 2016

With the time change & the wonderful spring like weather I've sprung ahead & have now mastered the quilt technique of meandering. And finished a small hanging that was also embroidered.

I used antique, red,cream, & green ribbon, 2 orphan hst blocks that I made into hourglass blocks, & bordered it with scraps of Thimbleberry greens. It hangs in the dining room, just outside of where I sew. ;-)

The embellishment of red glass beads, adds some interest to the embroidery.

Now Some Meandering!

I needed to practice this technique around something that was embroidered. I embroidered this spring rabbit & added colour to her & her dress, with water colour pencils.
I used some of the leftover table topper fabric to border around it. I just love that fabric!

Yes this would be the first meandering project. Must find more to practice on...

Yes... this small frame hanging embroidery & did it ever 'pop' out after it was meandered!

Meandering was working for me...so long as I didn't try to over think it. lol

I showed Susan, an accomplished freehand quilter, my projects & she said I was ready for the wall hanging meandering.

I was pleased with the way it looked...maybe just one more project before the Autumn Fairies.

So I put together three nautical, orphaned blocks from past quilts & made a small table runner.

After it was bound, I meandered around the star & then around the sails. I'll show it next post!

This picture made me laugh out loud! How appropriate with what I've been doing lately! LOL

The roof saga continues...we're now part of a 'class action' & BP Shingles will be coming to our home to access the next stage. Home Depot has said that they will be working on our behalf.
BP Shingles are manufactured in Quebec & will have a lot of recalls to do as the class action is from defective manufactured shingles from 2002-2010...that's a lot of work for roofers!!

Quotable Quotes - From Coffee News

"Business is like riding a bicycle. Either you keep moving or you fall down."
~John David Wright

About Me

I have a love for colour & design & use that passion in my life. I live on the Atlantic coast & am now living the dream with creating & sharing my hobbies. I've 3 cats that entertain me & 2 Boston Terriers. I have a loving family & many wonderful friends that enrich my life daily.